Fruit washing apparatus



NOV. 12, G GRIP-HTH FRUIT WASHING APPARATUS Filed Oct. y12, 1937 2 sheets-sheet 1 rw 2 T ML l O 3 15@ @s [6" 23 si@ /6 El@ O o o o /f la 2/ /4 o o l I l l I o4] O ein? Cc: OO l] g Oofa2 6.

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FRUIT WASHING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 12, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Nov. 12, 1940 UNITE-o ESTATE-fs iFmrwAsmNGnPPmt-Afrns Earle. Grimm, Los Angeles, oeuf.

.Apen-eenen october `12, 1937, seriarNonreasei :3 Claims.

My invention relates particularly to lan apparatus for washing or brushing fruit, such 'as oranges, lemons and the like, and-hasamongits salient objects to provide improved mechanism for feeding the -fruit `forwardly "from onebrush to another in afuniform manner, `withn'leans Ifor assuring the movement of `the vfruit forwardly without itsremainin'g in the trough between 'two brushes and revolving therein. Another object of my'invention is `toprovide an apparatus vin which alternate brushes are supported on movable supportsswhi'c'h are balanced by each other, whereby `said alternate brushes can be moved up and -down'toiacilitatethe movement of the 'fruit forwardly fromone'trough to another.

Another object ofmy invention is to iprovide an apparatus Vor' the character -re'ferred "to in which the movable lsupports ,-'for the'fbrushesiare mounted in a vertically inclined position `Viii-order to further 'facilitate the forward 'movement of the fruit from Lone trough to, another.

Another object o'f my 'invention fis toprovi'de a cross rod extending laacross fthe apparatus, lengthwise in each trough formed Fby two adjacent brushes to engage with the `fruit fas it fed from one trough to ranother, tSaid'rodoperating to prevent the `fruit 'from `revolvingby Jaction of the revolving brushes and'thus facilitating the.

movement o'f the fruit Vforwardly.

Other objects and advantages of l`:ny-invention will appear from the following more'detaile'd 'description of one practical 4'embodiment ithereof, taken with the'accompanyingtwo sheetsofdrawings, in which- Figure lis aside elevation :oran apparatus embodying my invention;

.Figure 2 is a vertica1,transvers.e.sectional view thereof, takenonline .2-12'of Iig. A1,.sai'd.line .being on .a` slight incline;

Figure :3 is Aa partial, vertical @sectional `view taken through the middle -of the t-apparatus .on line 3-3fof Fg.2.;

Figure -4 is a `vertical @sectionallviewtakenon the line 3--3, the same as :3, but @with the movable supports for thebrush'esfshifted tolalternate positions; and Y Figure 5 is van inside View .taken on thefline 5-5 of Fig. 2.

Referring :now :in detail to the drawings ia general rectangularY frame structure, 'ori openboxlike form is provided, 'zhaving 'it-he corner angie members 6, 6, connected by `transverse .fangl'e .members 1, "I, fand `longitudinal iside i-nrenibers 1B,

8, said Aupper side members 8, having channel portions 8', 8,'as seen'in Fig. 2.

Mounted at opposite sides of said frame structure, are vmovable supporting panel-like members forsupporting the brushes, hereinafter referred i In'Fig. 1, a side elevation, panels designated i 0, I0, are secured to a connecting bar II at the top,'and a connecting bar I2 at their lower ends.

'Saidoonnectingbars yII and I2, -at their opposite -ends are slida'bly secured to vertically inclined rods, I3 and III, -by `suitable brackets, al1 designated I5,"said rods being secured to the side members V3, 8,'by brackets I6. Thus said members, I0, -`IIJ, can be raised and loweredfin a manner again kreferred to.

-A'lternating with the members I, ITB, are panels I'I, I'I, connected by connecting bar I8, inter- 1mediatetheirends, and at their lower ends conkneote'dby bar I9,'said connecting'bars I8 and I9 Y 'being secured slidablyto rods 20 and 2I by brackets 22, and to the top and bottom side members 48,rbylbrackets 23. Thus said 'members I'I, I1, alternating-with members I6, Til, can also be' moved up :and down.

`v'On the opposite side 'of said apparatus, corresponding supporting members are designated I0', fI'0,Jand I1', II, and are supported in the same 'imanner in brackets similar to the brackets I6, Yand 23, and `on similar rods, designated I3', I4',

and 7211' and 2|', whereby corresponding supporting members ID and'l' on opposite sides of said Lframestructure and members I'I and I1 on opposite sides of said jframe can al1 be raised and VVlowered.. Attention is called to the fact that a short member I'I on one side and a long member I'll -on the opposite side are opposite each other and are movable on the rods 20 and 2D', as will `be:understoodby comparison of Figs. 1 and 4.

-Asvone -means for alternately moving said supporting-members I0, IIJ', and Il, Il', their lower connectingbars l2 and L9, Vare connected with a rocker arm 24, pivotally supported on shaft 25 vandsecured thereto, 'by means of two links, 26

and 521,1respectively, and of different lengths, as 1 shown. Said `rocker armZ/Ahas an operating with alternate supporting members I Il and I1', the pivotal support for the two rocker arms 24 and 33, being the same shaft 25.

An important feature of this invention is the fact that the supporting members I0 and I0', and I1 and I1 at the opposite sides of the frame structure, are so alternated and supported for movement by said rocker arms 24 and 33, that one set balances the other set so that their movements up and down alternately is made much easier.

Rotatably mounted between the inner faces of supporting members I0 and I1', are brushes, all designated 31, and rotatably mounted between" the inner faces of supporting members I1 and I0 are brushes, all designated 38, and these brushes are moved up and down with their respective supporting members and alternately.

Also mounted between said supporting members, across the inside of said frame structure, are cross rods, as 39 between the members I0 and I1', and 4I! between the members I1 and IIJ'. The rods are xed relative to the brushes and function to engage with the fruit to prevent the fruit from rotating with the brush and to facilitate the transfer of the fruit forwardly from one trough (formed between adjacent brushes) to another.

The inner faces of the supporting members I8, I9', and I1, I1', above the brushes 31 and 38, are also provided with stationary brushes, as 31 and 38', secured to said Supporting members and moving therewith. These are seen in Fig. 2, and are indicated by the dotted faces of said supporting members in Figs. 3 and 4. As the fruit is moved forwardly upon the rotating brushes 31 and 38, it also comes in contact with the brushes 31 and 38.

At the feed end of the structure I have shown two short, fixed members, -as 4I and 42, also having brushes on their faces the same as 31 and 38.

As a means for driving said rotatable brushes 31 and 38, on the outer faces of the supporting members I1, are mounted sprocket wheels, as 43, 43, with a sprocket chain 44 running under the same, the upper lap of said Chain being carried by -a straight rack or bracket 45, secured to the connecting bar I8. Said sprocket chain 44 runs over a driving sprocket 46, on a shaft 41, in supporting brackets 48, 48, secured to the opposite sides of the front end of said frame structure. The shafts of the sprockets 43, are designated 43 and constitute the shafts of the brushes 38.

On lthe opposite side of the frame structure the supporting members I1', I1', are provided with sprocket wheels, as 49, 49, with a sprocket chain 59 running under the same, with its upper lap carried by a straight rack or bracket 5I, as at the opposite side of the structure. This sprocket chain arrangement permits said supporting members to be alternately raised and lowered, as before described.

The mechanism is driven from a motor M, with small sprocket 52, driving a sprocket chain 53, which drives the sprocket 32, to operate thepitman rod 28, and also drives a sprocket 54, on the outer end of the shaft 41, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2.

The fruit is fed to the apparatus by an endless conveyor of any suitable type, designated as a whole 55, on the front end of the structure, and designed to deliver the fruit over a bridge member 69, on `to a plain roller 60', on the shaft 41, and from which roller 60' the fruit is delivered to the first brush 38, in the position seen in Fig. 3. When the supporting member I0' and brush 38 and the cross rod 40, and the orange, as seen in Fig. 3 are all raised together to the position as seen in Fig. 4, said cross rod operates to cause the orange b rto move forwardly and down upon brush 31, on supporting member I1 and to rod 39. It will be seen that oranges b, c, and d, are all being thus moved because these supporting members. I9,.I0' are raised and the oranges are'just ready. to fall to the brushes 31 below.

At'th'e discharge end of the structure is mounted a brush 56, in brackets 51, 51, at opposite 'sides of the frame, and this brush is rotated on its xed axis by a short sprocket chain 58, driven from a sprocket 59, on shaft 59', which also carries a brush 31. Said sprocket 59 and shaft 59 are driven at the opposite side by the sprocket chain 59 running over a sprocket 49a.

Thus I have provided an apparatus for receiving and brushing. fruit which has movable brushes to cause said fruit to vmove forwardly from the trough. between two brushes to the trough next in'order. I .have provided means whereby the movementof one set of brushes is balanced by t;

the alternateset .of brushes, thus making it easy to move. said brushes. alternately up and'down. I have provided in combination with the revolving brushes fixed cross rods adjacent said brushes to prevent. the fruit from revolving in the trough and for facilitating the movement of the fruit forwardly as the brush is raised. v v

I do not limit my invention, however, to the details of construction and arrangement here shown for descriptiveipurposes, except as I may t'.

be limited by the hereto appended claims.

. vfI claim: Y v

. 1,. In a fruitbrushing apparatus, a supporting frame@ a series.l of cylindrical rotatable .brushes arranged in substantially parallel relatively close position to form a substantially horizontal bed, over ywhich fruit is .fed transversely of the axes of the brushes, means for driving the brushes in the same direction to effect feeding ofthe fruit over said bed; meansl movably supporting alternate of said brushes for bodily parallel movement up Y and down in substantially rectilinear .paths inclined to the vertical, the upward inclined movement ofv said brushes being generally towardV the direction of travel of the 1 fruit over. said bedrto transfer the fruit in the valley between two `adjacent brushes to the next succeeding valley between two adjacent brushes,

vandfmean's for effecting` said bodily movement of said alternate brushes for a predetermined distance less than that allowing the fruit to discharge from the bed between adjacent brushes.

2. In a fruit brushing apparatus, two sets of substantially cylindrical rotatable brushes, the brushes of 'one set alternating With the brushes of the other set to form a bed extending substantially horizontally and being sufficiently close to prevent at all times the fruit discharging from between adjacent brushes, means for driving the brushes in thesame direction for effecting travel of the fruity o'versaid bed, means movably supporting saidbrushes for bodily movement up and down in substantially rectilinear parallel paths inclined to thevertical and generally toward the direction of travel of the fruit over said bed, Vthe brushes of each set beingconnected to be moved togetheras `a unit, yand means for actuating said ,tanceto alternately dispose the upper bed forming portions of adjacent brushes out of alignment with eachother, during the operation of the apparatus, -to transfer fruit in a valley between two adjacent brushes to the valley next succeeding between two adjacent brushes.

3. In a fruit brushing apparatus, a supporting frame structure, a plurality of cylindrical rotatable brushes arranged in relatively close relation to form a horizontal bed, brush bearing support-s one at each end of said brushes and movably mounted for substantially parallel up andy ponts, whereby to alternately dispose the upper v bed forming portions of adjacent brushes out of alignment with each other lto transfer fruit forwardly from between one pair of brushes over one of said pair to a-point between the latter and the next succeeding brush where the operation is repeated, and means `for driving the brushes in the same direction for eiecting the travel of the fruit over said bed.

EARL G. GRIFFITH. 

